Dragon Heartstring(13)

This is not a date.

“And, how about you, Shakara?”

“How about me, what?”

“Do you find me intriguing? Handsome?” he asked, wiggling his way back to the conversation I was trying to leave behind.

I busied myself unfolding my napkin. “I suppose you didn’t notice those two boutique girls at Julian’s party. The ones ogling you without shame.”

He shook his head, saying nothing, just observing in that extremely uncomfortable way of his.

I tried to focus on the lunch specials to make a decision and was having a damned hard time at that. Demetrius had gone silent again. I stole a glance to find him staring at me. My heart lurched. The way he used those dark eyes sent a tingle down my back and straight to my wings. It was like he had a direct line to my inner dragon. She liked him. And that made it hard for me to determine whether he was the pretentious jerk all the papers proclaimed him to be or whether he was actually the caring but sometimes overbearing guy Jessen had claimed he was.

“What?” I asked.

“So you noticed these other women noticing me?”

I shrugged. “It was kind of hard not to. They couldn’t shut up about the gorgeous Demetrius Cade. And you nearly made my poor receptionist faint. You really didn’t notice?”

A half-smile tilted his lovely lips in a way that made me want to behave as badly as Carra. I refused to do so.

“I can’t believe you don’t see it,” I said casually.

“I suppose it’s just that I’m not very attuned to a room full of people. I tend to focus on whatever is on my mind, even when in the company of larger groups.”

“And what held your attention so well this morning that you didn’t notice Carra falling all over herself when the most eligible bachelor in Gladium strode into our lobby?”

“You.” His answer was clear and steady.

That shut me up. I turned back to the menu, unable to keep his heavy gaze another moment.

“Have you guys made a decision?” Our perky but nervous waitress was back.

“I’ll just take the bistro special,” I piped up.

“I’ll have the same.”

She took the menus and disappeared again.

“And do you often surprise girls at their workplace for lunch?”

“No. Never actually.”

That’s when I realized something about Demetrius. He was always alone. Every time I saw him in person, he was alone. Even in the society columns and the pics posted by stalking paparazzi, he was always alone—on a jog in the park, out to a business dinner, strolling into Cade Enterprises. A solitary man, like no other.

“Oh. I see.”

And I did see. Demetrius was a very private man. And slightly oblivious to his effect on the rest of the world. At least the female population residing in it.

“So, now you have me here, please keep me in suspense no longer. What is this lunch all about? You said you wanted to talk to me about something.”

He drank his water, and I couldn’t help but watch his throat as he took three gulps before setting it down.

“I wanted to ask you about the hearing if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. Ask whatever you want.”

He slid off his jacket, draped it on the back of the chair, and then leaned forward over the table. “Has your father and your aunt thought this through carefully? This proposal to parliament?”

“We all have. The Morgon Guild has approved the proposal.” While the Morgon Guild operated out of Drakos where each clan’s guild leader met monthly, the happenings in Gladium were still of importance to the Morgons worldwide. And they fully supported the Icewing’s pursuit of this prohibition. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that I’m not sure you’ve considered how dangerous this could be.”

“I know it’s going to stir up controversy and hate-mongering. I’m not afraid of that.”

He scoffed. “There may be more than hate-mongering, Shakara.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure you’re aware that the Grayson family will be the hardest hit if this ban is approved. They have distributors who will feel the loss, but ultimately it will be them who suffer.”

“Yes. I know that.” His defense of the Grayson family lit a fuse inside of me. “I don’t care about the Grayson’s financial loss. They’ve created a machine that is an abomination to Morgonkind.”

He flinched. “Shakara.” He said my name low and deep, stirring me toward wayward thoughts. I wondered what it would be like to hear my name on his lips—in a dark room, alone.

He leaned forward over the table to speak intimately. “I don’t give a fuck about the Grayson family fortune. And I’d like nothing more than to see those weapons removed from the market and destroyed.”

“Then why—”

“Because what you don’t understand is that the Graysons aren’t just ruthless in their business dealings. They’re dangerous. And powerful. What you threaten to take away with the banning of the Volt gun is enough to put your own life at risk. Are you willing to do that?”

I believed what he said was true and that he warned me out of compassion. “Yes. I’m willing.”

“Even your own father is willing to risk your life, all your lives, whoever stands up for this cause?”